Well, we’ve reached the last
variable in our Indie publishing equation.
I’ve added many questions over the last several weeks, filtering the
answers through the personal experience and knowledge I’ve gained so far. I did try to keep to the facts, as I understand
them at this moment, but today’s post will be more of a departure into
opinion-based material because today we ask:
How do I make the most of my
Indie experience?
Just like all things in life, the
Indie publishing experience will be shaped by each individual’s skills,
expectations, and unique view on personal expression. The things I may find difficult, another
person may breeze through. The things
that send me into fits of frustration may be a delightful challenge for
another. Knowing that Indie publishing
is different for everyone is the reason why, in our first post Who, I suggested that you define who you
are on the front end. It’s also why I
suggested making a Known and Unknown list in the Where do I start? post. As
you embark on this quest, you’ll hear and read lots of advice, tips, and
stories, and it’s helpful to know which bits apply to you and which aren’t
necessarily relevant to your process.
I’d say the most important things
I was told or read would enhance my experience were:
Keep reminding yourself, you can do this
Always be aware of your platform
or brand
Trust your creative gut
Here are a few things I wish
someone had told me in order to make my experience better:
Give yourself lots (and lots) of
room for this
Build up your energy reserves (on
every level) before you begin
Leave your perfectionist
tendencies at the door
You aren’t a mule, and don’t let
your inner critic drive you like one
Celebrate everything, find joy in
even small tasks, and laugh often
As I write all this, I’m thinking
back on how I adjusted—and didn’t adjust—my work habits or goal-setting based
on these ideas. And it’s interesting
that only one of these pieces of advice regard the actual business of writing,
and the other stuff is a bit more, shall we say, touchy-feely. Which is precisely why I’ve included them,
and I would caution to never overlook physical and mental boundaries and
strengths because these elements can make or break you during big creative
movements like this.
Now let’s draw in more items that
relate to the organization and actual doing
portion of the experience. Below,
I’ll divide out larger parts of the process, and under each heading, list some
things to consider if you want to make the most of this deal.
Make the Most of Research and
Development By:
Taking a few days (or a week or a
month even) to tool around self-publishing blogs and websites or hit the
(Independent) bookstore or library in your neighborhood to just absorb information
Finding books and marketing plans
that meet your high standards (you’ll be employing
Steal Like an Artist
techniques as you move forward)
Making your Known and Unknown lists,
which will help with goal-setting and deciding who you’ll have to call on to
help with things you don’t know how to do
Deciding what your schedule will
be and how you’ll manage your time
Preparing your family and friends
for the shit-that’s-about-to-hit-the-fan (if they need convincing about the
time and energy this will take, show them your Unknown lists)
Preparing yourself with sleep,
good food, exercise, and a stress management plan that’s do-able when you’re
buried in editing, designing, and uploading
Make the Most of Your Writing
and Revising Time By:
Keeping your butt in the chair except
when you need to rest, eat, sleep, move the body, read a book, or have a little
fun
Setting up your work environment
with inspirational items and all needed resources
Asking critique partners to give
you honest feedback, and then…
Sitting with that feedback and
being honest with yourself about the
writing or concept
Asking family and friends to cheer
you on and generally proclaim how amazing it is that you’re doing this (this
will counteract the brutal honesty of your critique partners)
Not analyzing the marketplace
(many a Creative has changed their focus midstream to meet industry trends or
demands)
Make the Most of Your Design and
Uploading Time By:
Remaining flexible and creatively
open
Referring to those books you
consider high quality and allowing yourself to learn from and be inspired by
how they used fonts, formatted the interior, and designed their cover
Using review and proof-ordering
wait times to work on other tasks, like building a web or blogsite, or just to
reenergize
Taking the proofing periods
seriously, giving a critical eye to all elements of the book
Not being afraid to change, while
also…
Trusting your vision with one eye
on marketing (different from the marketplace)
And speaking of marketing...
This is a portion of the Indie
publishing equation that I’ve really only mentioned in passing, and I haven’t been
sure why I was holding out on you readers.
But as I outlined this post, the reason suddenly came to me. Brace yourself for a serious truth.
Marketing is distracting.
What I mean by this is that
marketing requires just as much artistic thinking as bookmaking, and from what
I’ve learned, heard, and witnessed, those who simultaneously use their creative
energy for publishing and marketing tend to burn out, or fall short. Remember, this is about the book.
Now, I will say that there are a
select group of people who have a well-established platform or brand and need a
book to move their vision forward. These
people would still do well to focus on a quality book, but because they have a
built-in audience and may have a history of marketing other products or
services, would not be robbed of creative ideas or motivation needed for the
book.
With that said, I’m going to
stand by my opinion that to be effective most people need to treat the bulk of marketing
like a follow-up project. I mentioned
that establishing your target audience, defining your platform and/or brand,
and doing some basic research and brainstorming can all happen during the
creation of the book, but once the book’s in print and/or sent live as an
eBook, you can turn your full focus to the bulky parts of marketing, which
includes:
Building a online presence, most
commonly done with a web or blogsite
Establishing a relationship with
Independent bookstores and/or libraries
Planning events, charitable
outreach, and/or promotions and giveaways
Networking (appropriately) online
to announce your book and promotions
Creating a word-of-mouth campaign
Earning media attention through
book reviews and/or press releases
Developing and living your
platform/brand
A word on platforms and brands: your
platform may not be easily detectable at first, but just decide what you want
to bring to the reading community and work from there. Your platform is a sort of mission statement. Branding can be a bit confusing, and I hope I
articulate this in an understandable way.
If your brand only describes your writing/book(s) and any related
products/services, it becomes separate from your platform. If your brand describes you as an author and your writing/books then the two essentially
combine to be a platform. Sometimes the
author is the brand and the book is
about the author, but again, in this instance the industry uses the terms brand
and platform interchangeably. This
happens a lot with public speaking professionals who have one topic they
present.
To close out the marketing
conversation, I’ll point out a few things that will help you make the most of
your experience, though, you may have heard these before. First, do only what
you’ll love. This includes joining social
media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, or starting a blog. Second, it’s said often, but deserves repeating,
there are online rules of marketing etiquette, and being a good social media
steward will earn you the respect of your peers. And the final note: when I reached out to a
savvy marketing professional friend of mine for advertising and public relations
advice, she talked first about pacing.
She reminded me that marketing a product is a marathon, not a sprint,
and adopting this attitude will not only help us get the most from our
marketing experience, but from the whole entire process (thanks SM).
(W5+ H) x
(IP ÷ RMs)
So there you have it. The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of
Indie Publishing, R McCormack Style. I
can’t claim to know it all, and I’ve made and continue to make mistakes, but I
wanted to share my experience with those that have been wondering about the
risks and rewards. I hope there’s some
morsel in this series that speaks to you and helps you decide how to invest in
your own personal expression and creativity. Wishing you abundant words and helluva good time!